Saratoga: So Many Ways rallies to win Schuylerville

Barbara D. Livingston

So Many Ways, left, wins the Schuylerville Stakes on Saratoga's opening day.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When Tony Dutrow on Tuesday entered So Many Ways in Friday's Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga, he said he told the entry clerk the filly would win the race.

"I've won this race before and finished second a couple of times with horses that couldn't come close to her," Dutrow said.

Dutrow's prediction came true as So Many Ways, under Javier Castellano, rallied widest of all in the stretch, then outfought Can't Explain to the wire to win the Schuylerville by 1 1/2 lengths on opening day at Saratoga. Can't Explain finished second by 1 1/2 lengths over Baby J. Fully Living, Sweet Shirley Mae, and Brown Eyes Blue completed the order of finish.

Dutrow won the Schuylerville for the second time. He also won it in 2001 with Touch Love.

After winning her debut in front-running fashion at Parx, So Many Ways settled in fifth position early as Baby J, trained by Richard Dutrow Jr., set fractions of 22.22 seconds for the quarter and 45.85 for the half-mile.

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So Many Ways advanced three-to-four wide around the turn into the stretch, hooked up with Can't Explain inside the sixteenth pole and edged clear in the final yards.

"There was a lot of speed in the race today, I just covered up behind the horses and she responded," Castellano said.

So Many Ways, a daughter of Sightseeing owned by Maggi Moss, covered the six furlongs in 1:11.51 and returned $7.60 as the favorite.

"All of them were fast and won on the lead like they did, Something had to give today," said Dutrow, who also won the nightcap with To Dubai. "I thought it would be us, especially from the outside post. I thought that we would be in good shape out there and hopefully we'd be able to finish up and we were."

Dutrow said he would certainly consider the Grade 1 Spinaway on Sept. 2 for So Many Ways. Dutrow won the Spinaway last year with Grace Hall.